You know I like to have some fun with our Canadian cousins, right across the Detroit River, while living here in the great state of Michigan. Having spent a good part of my youth in Windsor, Ontario, because of the legal drinking age being 19 and not 21, like it is here in the United States, I feel like I've earned that right.

However, I think now things are getting real, as the youngsters say, and relations between the United States and Canada are probably the worst they've been since the War of 1812.

I'm not that worried, though, because I know American public schools don't teach history that far back.

Being that I live right across a small lake from Canada, I have been following their actions for several years and have been surprised that they have taken Donald Trump using tariffs a little more serious than I thought they would.

I have even taken their side about not wanting to become the 51st state, by agreeing that I don't want them to become the 51st state. That would be horrible for this country's elections, to move that far left to the center, with 40 million Canadians who constantly vote for Liberal Progressive policies.

OPINION: The US Absorbing Canada Is a Bad Idea for Future Elections, So Let's Finish These Other Goals

Yet, back to Eric and Gary's point, that if we absorbed Canada into the United States, that would change the electoral college process. So, if you now made tens of millions of people--who mostly vote for the closest equivalent to Democrats in the United States--citizens, how much harder is it for anybody with an "R" after his or her name to get to 271 electoral votes to win the White House? Then there's the problem of dividing Congress up in the House of Representatives and/or making provinces into states with two senators.

You can just imagine the Democrats jumping for joy at the prospect of this. How would that make America great again?

I wrote the article about Mark Carney, the new Canadian prime minister, calling for a snap election, which will determine if the liberal Progressive Party will continue to control Parliament or if the conservatives can take enough seats to put in Pierre Poilievre as prime minister. 

Things have gotten a bit more touchy, as I read about right HERE

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that Canada's old relationship with the United States, "based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation, is over".

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa after a cabinet meeting, Carney said Canadians must "fundamentally reimagine our economy" in the face of US President Donald Trump's tariffs.

He said Canada would respond with retaliatory tariffs that will have "maximum impact" on the US.

Trump announced on Wednesday he would target imported vehicles and vehicle parts with a 25% tax, stating: "This is permanent."

I'm hoping that Canada didn't just break up with us because that would be awkward.

The mood in Canada has changed now, and it seems the liberal Progressive Party is taking advantage just four weeks before the national election:

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose party’s fortunes have been revived by taking a hard line against Trump, said Thursday that the U.S. is “no longer a reliable partner” and that Canadians must now “look out for ourselves.”

This is where I start to get a little bit nervous or antsy.

 I fully understand that the United States of America is the largest market in the world, and that Canada loves the close relationship that we have had with them and access to our markets, after the new trade deal that was signed under the Trump administration and his first term. Diplomacy is diplomacy and on the long-term view of countries we have to deal with around the world, Canada is not one of the big problems we are facing.

Not in any way, shape, or form. 

If there is a dispute that needs to be resolved, the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement that Donald Trump negotiated in his first term, getting rid of NAFTA, is how this should be done. Steps are being taken, as Trump and Carney had their first conversation since Carney became prime minister earlier this month. I read about that conversation on Friday right HERE.

"The president respected Canada's sovereignty today, both in his private and public comments," Carney told a press conference in Montreal, saying the phone call had been very cordial.

Carney on Thursday vowed to transform Canada's economy to be less dependent on the United States. Trump's tariff announcement is expected on April 2. Ottawa has made clear for months that it will impose countermeasures.

"I informed President Trump that my government will be implementing counter tariffs to protect Canadian workers and our economy following the announcement of new trade actions by the United States on April 2," Carney told the press conference.

There is no doubt that countries all around the world have had much better access to the American market than American products have had to theirs. That has harmed American workers to a certain degree, but it has also benefited American consumers with an enormous amount of products at a competitive rate.

Hopefully this gets resolved as soon possible, and we can get back to being best buds again before the Stanley Cup playoffs. 

We have traditions to keep up.